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The hidden trail of Syrian aid

Displaced Syrians, children and adults, wait for the daily distribution of food provided by a Turkish NGO at the Syrian Internal Displaced Camp on the border between Syria and Turkey, 09 December 2012. EPA/MAYSUN

Tuesday, February 5 at 19:30 GMT:

With UN reports that 60,000 Syrians have been killed and more than four million in need of humanitarian assistance, donor countries continue to pledge large sums of money. At a recent conference in Kuwait more than $1.5 billion was promised; however, with funds allocated to Syria's government, where will the money really go? And are these international donors partly to blame for the conflict?

Translation:The revolution continues, and the subject of buying time has ended. However, the Syrian people have faced this unprecedented crisis. So, in order to bolster goodwill, find a political solution to the crisis, and organise things to transition without an excess of bloodshed, I'm announcing that I am ready to sit down directly with representatives of the Syrian regime in Cairo, Tunis or Istanbul. It is not right for one to compromise on the freedom for which our people have paid dearly with their blood, so I stipulate these two essential conditions for the Syrian people as the preliminary price of sitting down with representatives of the government:

First: The release of 160,000 prisoners – first of all women, Air Force Intelligence prisoners and those imprisoned in Sednaya Prison.

Second: All governmental embassies must allow all Syrians whose passports have expired to attain new passports or to extend their passports for a period of at least two years.